What I love about this story is that this is the tension of politics in a nutshell. What has happened here is what people would term "state capture", where someone uses the state to gain an advantage. Probably though, the solution is to not _completely_ demolish any standard of pasta and let the market solely decide, because we've seen what happens in a variety of other unregulated industries. However, I won't make my stand on any solution here: I'm more of a polenta person honestly.
It's a true problem that requires nuance, or lacking that, constant vigilance to make sure the system works for everyone. I'm realizing more and more that there will never be a political promised land, a polity will always have to perform the maintenance of their system, and every generation will have to actively work to bend their systems toward justice.
What I find most interesting is that the standard is defined in nutritional value, not in terms of ingredients (x percent flour, up to y percent egg, something like that).
> Probably though, the solution is to not _completely_ demolish any standard of pasta and let the market solely decide, because we've seen what happens in a variety of other unregulated industries.
A few relevant anecdotes on this topic:
About a decade ago, a Dutch TV-show about food standards discovered that store-bought "guacamole" contains just 1% avocado powder. Presumably the legal standard for guacamole is that it contains avocado, without further specification. So obviously supermarkets, knowing that most Dutch people there haven't a clue what guacamole is, created the cheapest sauce imaginable.
Another story: the process of standardizing chocolate at the EU level was a long one because each country had different national standards. The biggest talking point, IIRC, was whether or not it was acceptable to use non-cocoa fat (keep in mind that adding fat from other sources would often be cheaper). Note that whichever option would be picked, the chocolate industries of the nations with the "opposing" regulation felt like they would lose:
- if added fat was allowed, the chocolate from countries where this wasn't allowed nationally would be more expensive and have trouble competing
- if added fat wasn't allowed, the chocolate from countries where this was the norm could not be exported
More to the point, it can’t be treated as bread (VAT exempt) for VAT purposes. This stuff happens a lot with VAT; for instance see the Jaffa Cakes biscuit or cake thing.
It's a true problem that requires nuance, or lacking that, constant vigilance to make sure the system works for everyone. I'm realizing more and more that there will never be a political promised land, a polity will always have to perform the maintenance of their system, and every generation will have to actively work to bend their systems toward justice.